Traversing the “alphabet streets” in re­verse order, it wasn’t very long until I arrived at NW Thurman Street and the newish Mc­Men­a­mins 23rd Avenue Bot­tle Shop, where I admired the wide selection and made a few purchases.

With that purchase, I received a “Buy a Bottle of McMenamins Spirits” Passport stamp in the new Insert.

By this time I had been roaming the Alphabet District for two and a half hours; I was quite hot and thirsty. So in addition to my other purchases, I perused the Bottle Shop’s collection of bottles until I found a brew that might suit me.

I have to admit that the on-sale price of $1.85 influenced my de­ci­sion. But I was glad for that, because this twelve-​time-​award-​winning Red Seal Ale, by North Coast Brewing Company, lo­cat­ed in Fort Bragg, California, was really good. According to the brewer:

When I went to sit at a sidewalk table to enjoy my cold, re­fresh­ing beer, a guy named Jerry joined me. I had a bottle opener, so I opened both of our beers, and we chatted as we drank. Later, when I went inside to leave them our empty bottles, they told me that next time they needed to open the bottle for me! Ap­par­ent­ly it’s a city law in Portland — perhaps this one? Gosh!

Once 11:00 rolled around, I moseyed next door to the McMenamins Tavern & Pool. Of course, seeing that it had just opened, I pretty much had the place to myself. I would imagine that it is a lot more lively there at 11:00 PM instead of AM!

One thing I have noticed about Mc­Men­a­mins: their appetizers can be spendy (like most everything else on the menu), but they are generally large portions — enough to share, or to make yourself an entire meal (which I have done a number of times).

For the first part of my lunch, I had their garlic-parmesan bread knots with zesty tomato sauce. It was delicious, but I wish the tomato sauce had been hot in­stead of only lukewarm.

To wash it all down, I tried a glass of their popular Bagdad Ale, for the first time. According to the brewer:

“Bagdad Ale is a benchmark beer for McMenamins. Inspired by the Pilsner style, our Bagdad Ale is one for the lager lovers. Its fine hop aroma and quick, light finish makes this a good ale for hot weather. It has become a favorite at McMenamins Bagdad Theater in Portland.” Meas­ure­ments: 5% ABV • 22 IBU

My notes from that day read: “beer was kinda weak and wa­tery ... maybe that’s what I get for IBU 22 ... don’t think I would try it again.” By the way, the picture is not out of focus, it’s just that I was us­ing a slow shutter speed in the low lighting, and the beer bubbles were moving fast!

After that very filling appetizer, I was off to the next Mc­Men­a­mins for my actual lunch. If I had been wise, I would have ad­just­ed my plans according to the state of my stomach ... but I was not wise! As I was walking south along 23rd, I was accosted by a lovely, vivacious redhead on the corner of Kearney Street.

I for sure was not going to donate right there on the street, but nevertheless she did pose for a picture, even though I didn’t actually ask her to. All part of keeping Portland weird, I suppose. At least I got a photo for this part of the story!

After disentangling myself from the chugger (charity mugger!), I made my way a few blocks further south along NW 23rd Ave­nue to Hoyt Street, where the McMenamins Rams Head bar and restaurant occupies the ground floor of the historic (built 1912) Campbell Hotel — now the Campbell Court Apartments.

It was very pleasant to sit at a sidewalk table under big shady trees with a slight breeze! While I was eating, a small group of older, French-​speaking tourists walked by.

One of the ladies, who reminded me of my mother-in-law, said in French as she passed my table: “Il y a beaucoup des petits cafés dans touts les coins!” Which translates as: “There are lots of small cafés in every corner!” Not ‘ON every corner,’ but ‘IN every corner,’ which is a slang way of saying ‘everywhere.’ It made me laugh! And it made me proud I could understand.

After trying a couple different beer samples, I settled on Mc­Men­a­mins’ flagship Hammerhead Ale. As with their Bagdad Ale, this was my first time. According to the brewer:

It was very filling ... I never should have had that plate of bread knots! Actually, the bread knots were better, so I should have skipped the lamb burger!

The last stop on my McMenamins pub crawl was a short quar­ter-​of-​a-​mile walk away. In front of the Blue Moon Tavern and Grill, on the corner of NW 21st Avenue and Glisan Street, I set­tled in at another sidewalk table.

It was kind of hot on the west side of the building on 21st Ave­nue, even though I was in the shade.

Seeing that I had already had three beers at the three previous McMenamins stops, this time I was in the mood for something different. So I ordered a pint of their delicious and refreshing, seasonal (April – July) black cherry cider. It is really good! According to McMenamins:

“Made with a generous addition of dark cherry juice to a base of dry apple cider, this bright ruby-hued cider presents with a rich cherry-scented nose, with an undercurrent of fresh apples. In the mouth, sweet cherry flavors blend seamlessly with the tart acid­ity of the apples.”

I should have gotten a “Buy a Pint of McMenamins Hard Cider” stamp in my Passport, but the waitress didn’t give it and I for­got to ask, because it was in the new Insert section I had just bought at the Bottle Shop. Oh well, next time ... this was not going to be my last cider!

I walked fast for about 100 yards, and then saw the train ap­proach­ing. So, like a fool, I ran the remaining 250 yards to try to catch it — 54 years old, with a big camera backpack, in the heat, after three beers, two meals and a hard cider. Gosh!

I was so out of breath and sweating, with my heart pounding like crazy, I’m surprised I didn’t have a heart attack! Would it have been so bad to wait 10 (or less) minutes until the next Red or Blue train? Maybe I had too many bubbles on the brain to make a rational decision!

Well, that was the exciting, and nearly tragic, end to my Mc­Men­a­mins Portland Alphabet District pub crawl.

I visited 5 McMenamins locations that day, starting with break­fast the Zeus Café — but that wasn’t in the Alphabet District. I also collected 6 Passport stamps.